Brooks Conrad summoned from AAA

[3and2Fastball]

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/150075995.html#!page=0&pageSize=10&sort=newestfirst

[PrinceEatMeat]

I knew he was the one coming up, but still glad to see it. I wish he would've made the roster over Ishikawa. The best part about this is that Izturis will no longer be our backup at 2B and 3B. And we now have an actual RH pinch-hitting option off the bench. He'll probably outplay Ishikawa right away. I'm guessing he'll just get some starts against LHP at 1B for now, until Hart can take over those duties.

[3and2Fastball]

Conrad has played only 1 game in his MLB career at 1B (He's played 50 games at 3B and 32 games at 2B)

 

Although he's a switch-hitter, Conrad has been more successful as a RHB vs LHP (.268 BA and a .358 OBP in 71 at-bats)

 

Conrad was batting .400 in 50 AB's in AAA this year. Conrad is 32 years old, he has hit .254 with a .333 OBP in 2396 AB's in his AAA career

[brettac1]

They really need to do better than this. I'm fine with him being around in a bench role, but if it's a platoon of Conrad/Ishikawa at 1B the rest of the year, color me unimpressed.

[3and2Fastball]

They really need to do better than this. I'm fine with him being around in a bench role, but if it's a platoon of Conrad/Ishikawa at 1B the rest of the year, color me unimpressed.

 

I can't imagine that the Brewers would actually think of that as their solution. I think it is much more likely that Hart plays 1B with Ishikawa and Conrad in bench roles

 

I don't expect Conrad to do much more than hit .250-.260 with a .330 OBP, but he is an easy guy for me to root for in that he all-out hustles all the time. A good player in a utility role

[Baldkin]

Actually, I could see them going Morgan/Aoki/Hart vs RHP, and Gomez/Hart/Conrad vs LHP. (CF/RF/1B)

[JohnBriggs12]

I think everyone's being a little dismissive of Ishikawa. We're talking about a guy who made it to the big leagues at 22 and was essentially a starter at 25 on a team that won 89 games. He kind of became a poster boy for a team that struggled to score runs because his numbers were very modest for a first baseman. But he wasn't that bad, considering where he played and the division he was in. Overbay's had a couple years that were very similar. He's a fine defensive player too.

 

Sure they could have started the year with Conrad, but I think there were real doubts about Gamel, and they wanted a true first baseman backing him up.

 

Now if Hart can handle the move and not have it affect his offense, and if Aoki can be a nice table setter, then it will work out. But those are ifs. Lets see what Ishikawa does in 150 AB's before we completely dismiss him.

[PrinceFielderx1]

Ishikawa better get his act together quickly (20 something outs in 29 AB) or he could possibly lose playing time to Conrad or even Green if the Brewers decide to call him up later and send Ishikawa down. Conrad is coming up hot from AAA and is a switch hitter, and if he continues to hit well, he will likely be given additional playing time. Ishikawa needs to take advantage of this opportunity or he wont be in Milwaukee much longer.

[TooLiveBrew]

Lets see what Ishikawa does in 150 AB's before we completely dismiss him.

Or we could use scouting & his most recent production, which was nothing short of anemic in the hitters' paradise of the West Coast PCL in 2011.

 

The guy's not a bad baseball player, but he's a bad big-league 1B in terms of offense.

[PrinceEatMeat]

Actually, I could see them going Morgan/Aoki/Hart vs RHP, and Gomez/Hart/Conrad vs LHP. (CF/RF/1B)

 

I'd be ok with this plan for most of the games. Although I wouldn't mind Aoki against LHP sometimes. And Ishikawa would likely play over Morgan sometimes too, with Aoki in CF, and Hart in RF.

[rluzinski]

Lets see what Ishikawa does in 150 AB's before we completely dismiss him.

Judging a vet by his first 150 AB of a season is exactly what you shouldn't do, good or bad. It can make you come to conclusions that look absolutely foolish by the end of the year.

 

I care little about his production in 2012. What I care about is his .261/.323/.400/.723 major league line since 2009 and his mediocre numbers last year in AAA. He could turn his career around but the odds are not good.

 

Conrad's offensive projections look equally as bad but at least he can play 2B and 3B. Neither have any business getting major league starts at 1B.

[JohnBriggs12]

His mediocre AAA numbers last year were in just 211 plate appearances. That was after spending all of 2010 as a bench player for a championship team. I'd give him a little slack for adjusting to going from World Series (even as a sub he got in to 10 postseason games) to playing in AAA a few months later. A bit of a letdown is common. In his previous time in AAA (again over a rather small sample) he had an OPS of 1.107. That was at age 24 in 2008. Are you telling me at 28, he's not that good any more?

 

Nobody's expecting him to be Prince Fielder. But if he hits .265 and slugs .400 (possible in the Central division), it's not far off what was expected of Gamel.

[longball04]

If Conrad is simply a bench option then so be it. Izturis can't get the ball out of the infield whereas Conrad has some pop, and can hit a lot better from both sides of the plate. If we only had a backup option at SS, then Izturis could be DFA or released. Ishikawa is fine as a backup, but the Brewers need to make a decision quick here and commit to it (as in move Corey to 1st or transition Ramirez there if you have to). I am glad to see Conrad get a shot since he was playing quite well as of late in the minors. Perhaps RR will give Weeks a much needed night off.

[jerichoholicninja]

"We're talking about a guy who made it to the big leagues at 22 and was essentially a starter at 25 on a team that won 89 games."

 

"That was after spending all of 2010 as a bench player for a championship team."

 

Completely irrelevant to a player's ability. Ish is not a player that should be a full time starter for any major league team.

[brwrsfan]

Kottaras can play 1b can't he? I would really like them to bring up a third catcher and let him get some starts at 1b, along with Hart and the OCCASIONAL start there by Ishikawa. Him playing everyday at 1b leaves much to be desired in my opinion.

[jerichoholicninja]

Kottaras can play 1b can't he? I would really like them to bring up a third catcher and let him get some starts at 1b, along with Hart and the OCCASIONAL start there by Ishikawa. Him playing everyday at 1b leaves much to be desired in my opinion.

 

That would be my favorite option.

[3and2Fastball]

I like the idea of Kottaras playing 1B as well, especially against RHP, and if I recall correctly there was some talk of Conrad being an emergency catcher in spring training which would eliminate a need to bring up a 3rd catcher (would much rather have Maldanado getting regular starts for Nashville)

[ninja33]

If they played Kottaras at first some, would they really NEED a third catcher? If anything should happen to Luc mid game, you can just move Kottaras behind the plate and put Ishikawa in at first. Either way, has kottaras ever made more than 1 or 2 starts at 1B? Might be worth having him take some ground balls, but I don't think that's the answer.

 

I saw Conrad play a decent amount when I was in Atlanta, and I like him quite a bit as a bench player (I'm in the "wish he made the roster instead of Ishikawa" camp with most everyone else). I'm happy he's finally up with the team, but agree there's no way they can go forward platooning him with Ishikawa. Neither of their bats hold up at 1B...conrad's a little bit of a better hitter but he is a butcher in the field. Please take one for the team Corey Hart (or Aramis).

[brwrsfan]

Can Ramirez play 1b? Why not Taylor Green at 3b and Ramirez at 1b? Then with a tough lefty, Ramirez back to third, Conrad or Hart at first? Seems like there are so many better ways to handle this that don't involve Ishikawa getting to play regularily.

[PrinceFielderx1]

I highly doubt that Doug Melvin moves Ramirez to 1B. Doug Melvin has always been one to give into veteran players demands or to play them only at their career positions. It doesn't make any sense to me..

[longball04]

Whatever happened to the old adage of:

This guy is our third baseman.

This guy is our first baseman.

This guy is our right fielder.

 

When the heck did we become a platoon organization? Why can't we just make a decision, i.e. Corey Hart is our first baseman and move on from there? Why do we have to play 3 positions at a platoon? How does that help this team become more consistent? It doesn't.

[adamds22]

Whatever happened to the old adage of:

This guy is our third baseman.

This guy is our first baseman.

This guy is our right fielder.

 

When the heck did we become a platoon organization? Why can't we just make a decision, i.e. Corey Hart is our first baseman and move on from there? Why do we have to play 3 positions at a platoon? How does that help this team become more consistent? It doesn't.

 

Agreed 100%, this is getting ridiculous.

 

IMO we need to not delay the inevitable and move Ramirez to 1B now, bring up Green and deal with the bumps.

[PrinceEatMeat]

Whatever happened to the old adage of:

This guy is our third baseman.

This guy is our first baseman.

This guy is our right fielder.

 

When the heck did we become a platoon organization? Why can't we just make a decision, i.e. Corey Hart is our first baseman and move on from there? Why do we have to play 3 positions at a platoon? How does that help this team become more consistent? It doesn't.

 

I agree in this situation. Ishikawa and Conrad both have no business being starters at 1B in the major leagues. They should just make Hart the everyday 1B, Aoki the everyday RF, and move on. Ishikawa can stay as the backup 1B, Conrad can backup 2B and 3B, Izturis can backup SS, and Morgan can continue some type of platoon with Gomez in CF and backup RF. Maybe they decide they want an extra OF instead of carrying Ishikawa or Conrad, so they call-up Gindl to get some PT in RF. Either way, problem solved. That's what I would do.

[gregmag]

Whatever happened to the old adage of:

This guy is our third baseman.

This guy is our first baseman.

This guy is our right fielder.

 

When the heck did we become a platoon organization? Why can't we just make a decision, i.e. Corey Hart is our first baseman and move on from there? Why do we have to play 3 positions at a platoon? How does that help this team become more consistent? It doesn't.

 

Agreed 100%, this is getting ridiculous.

 

IMO we need to not delay the inevitable and move Ramirez to 1B now, bring up Green and deal with the bumps.

 

Your points are a little ironic: If we were the kind of organization who committed to a player at a position and didn't move off that commitment, then we couldn't be talking about moving either Hart or Ramirez to 1b, certainly not in the (relative) middle of the season.

 

I'm probably more comfortable with platoons than you guys are, but even if platoons are generally a bad idea, they're probably most understandable when you suddenly lose a starter. We're going to have to cover for an everyday bat, and moving guys around may be the best way to do that. I understand that you're both advocating long-term moves (Hart or Ramirez) that may make a lot of sense on their own terms. You may be right that we have a very clean solution available to the 1b problem. I'm just not sure we have a comfortable, everyday solution to the "hole in the lineup problem." Do we trust Aoki enough? Green? This is why some kind of 3b or rf platoon may be desirable, so that we can break one of those guys in and/or get a better look at him, if that's where we're going.

 

Also, I agree with just about everybody that Ishikawa shouldn't start and shouldn't have made the team out of camp, although I admit he looks less useless now than he did a week ago.

[PrinceEatMeat]

Hart could start pretty much everyday at 1B, but still get some starts in RF as well. That way all of the pressure isn't on Aoki, and the platoon can stay in CF. Just because Hart moves to 1B for the majority of the time for the rest of this season doesn't mean he has to be the long-term answer there, or stay there next season. He just seems like the best solution for the remainder of the season there. Gamel can be plugged back in there next season, and Hart can go back to RF. He'll still be there as a backup plan if Gamel struggles coming off his injury or otherwise.